Waiting on a Miracle
by NRK-TheKid
Summary: Just a short drabble about Pepper's life while Tony was held as a hostage in the cave. R&R please!  2nd chapter has been added.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first fan fic (let alone _thing_) I've written in a couple years, so please give me some feedback (constructive preferably, haha). I wrote this because of a challenge I saw online. I tried to edit it to the best of my ability (at 3 in the morning...) so if there are any errors, I take full responsibility.

(I don't own the rights to the Ironman comics or movies. If I did, I'd cast myself in one of the roles. Just sayin'.)

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy!

The night Rhodey called Pepper to tell her the Humvees had been ambushed and Tony had been captured was the pinnacle night of all others Pepper wished she could forget. They had remained on the phone together for almost 20 minutes, barely saying a word to each other. She had cried quite a few times, and she was certain she heard Rhodey begin to cry at one point too.

Word of Tony's capture had spread three days after the initial event. The media went crazy, calling Pepper at all hours, asking the same questions over and over. Sometimes, all she could do was let it ring.

A week after Tony had been captured, Obadiah took over running Stark Industries. Pepper had to answer to him now. He wasn't quite as demanding as Tony was, but working for the older man just wasn't the same. He never initiated any sort of playful banter with her, nor did he try to joke around much in general. He always kept business serious, and was never late for anything. She wondered if he was missing Tony as much as she was, and perhaps he was just trying to be respectful of boundaries and what not. She never went over to his house to work, nor did he ever invite her to lunch when it wasn't mandatory.

A month after Tony had been captured, the military called off the search for him. He was now "presumed dead," and the military insisted they had more important things to tend to than search the desert and mountains for one billionaire genius who just so happened to invent and manufacture their entire supply of weapons. Pepper had angrily called up Rhodey, ranting and raving to him once she heard the news. He told her he was talking to his superiors about putting a team of soldiers together to focus on searching more in depth for him. Currently, his proposal was "pending."

Two months after Tony had been captured, Pepper stepped foot into his cold, deserted mansion. She spent hours cleaning and reorganizing, although without the maniac to cause the messes to begin with, there really wasn't much for her to clean at all. She cleared out his refrigerator, put away all his dishes, took out the trash, and even washed two small loads of laundry. She talked to JARVIS, informing him of Tony's predicament. He calculated for her the odds of Tony's survival.

…Pepper muted JARVIS.

Everyday after work, Pepper stopped by the mansion. She tried to stay away from the lab, but that was where his heart was. That was the only place where it really felt like Tony had spent time in, where he truly made it his own. She paced around the lab and garage, admiring his cars and robots. He had unfinished inventions scattered on work tables throughout the enormous space. She sat at his desk, studying his notes, finding herself missing that strange chicken scratch he was known for amongst his colleagues. She had even found, in a small dark wooden frame, a picture of Tony and her when they went to Italy. He had convinced her to take an hour from her schedule to relax with him on the beach. A passing local was polite enough to take a picture of them. Pepper never liked getting her picture taken, but Tony had insisted. She honestly didn't expect to see the picture ever again, but seeing it now made her heart ache.

That night, Pepper slept on Tony's couch in his lab, praying she would wake up in the morning to his confused but amused face.

Three months after Tony had been captured, Obadiah began changing procedures and adjusting the line of manufactured products from the company. Employees began to gripe at Pepper, who insisted there was nothing she could do besides talk to Stain, which she did every morning. One morning, Pepper had woken up in a particularly bad mood. Stain was barking orders at her as soon as she arrived to work, and went on and on about new protocols he had made, and the consequences if they weren't followed.

_Why don't you just go and change the name of the damn company while you're at it, _she thought as she scribbled notes on her clipboard.

"Excuse me?" Pepper looked up to see Stane's serious face, her blood instantly running cold. Had she actually said that out loud? God, she had been hanging around Tony too much, and that only made her heart ache more. She attempted to stammer out an explanation, but he raised his hand to quiet her.

"I empathize with what you are going through, Miss Potts, and I will let that off handed remark slide, but just this once. I understand this company was run very differently when Tony…_Mr. Stark _was in charge, but that responsibility has been handed over to me now, and seeing as we are currently the world's leading weapons manufacturer, I have to run a very tight ship. I'm sure you understand that."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, if you don't mind bringing me a coffee -black- and cancelling my 3 o'clock meeting with Senator Burke, that would be great."

"Yes, Mr. Stane." Pepper quickly hurried out of the office, feeling Stain's leer following after her.

On the three and a half month anniversary of Tony's capture, Obadiah called Pepper into his office -formerly Tony's. He puffed on a cigar as he listened to Pepper quickly fill him in on the company's progress in the New York office.

"Listen, Pepper," he began, tapping ashes into the ash tray. An alarm went off in her head. This was the first time Stane had called her Pepper, at least to her face. "The _real_ reason I called you in here is…I want you to plan the memorial for Tony." Her mouth ran dry.

"Memorial?"

"Tony's birthday is in a couple weeks. I was thinking it'd be a nice send off to have it then, hmm? Sort of come full circle for the kid."

"But…the Army still has yet to come up with any sort of…remains, sir."

"Pepper, it's been over three months. Tony's not coming back."

"We don't know that for sure, sir."

"Believe me. He's not coming back. In a box or otherwise. It's best to just accept the truth and move on. Your job is to help others move on as well. See if we can book the Disney Concert Hall for this, okay?" Pepper pursed her lips together for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Stane. Will that be all?"

"Yes, Miss Potts. Thank you." She stood from her seat and left the office. Once she returned to her own, she locked the door behind her and began to cry quietly, resting her forehead against the cold, hard wood.

Pepper had managed to push off the memorial planning for a week, informing Stane that it was too difficult for the Concert Hall to book Tony's memorial on his birthday. Stane wrote a check, leaving the amount blank and told her to try one more time. She slipped the blank check into her purse and left the office for the day.

Pepper sat on the couch in Tony's living room, flipping through the old photo albums he had locked away in a fire proof safe at the far end of his garage. She was surprised to discover that the only key she didn't know what belonged to on the ring of keys Tony had given her was actually to this safe.

She had spent a couple of hours flipping through the five different albums, admiring all the pictures. There were, of course, ones of Tony through out the years, his parents, their numerous trips around the world, and even some obscure photos of the sky and water, which she assumed a _very_ young Tony had taken. One picture was half covered by his little fingers. With each passing photo, the idea of planning his memorial became more important to her. The world viewed Tony Stark in a very narrow and simple way, but he was so much more than the labels he had been given. And what better person to share these memories with the world than herself? But she agonized of the idea of a memorial to begin with. To have one meant to accept the fact he was gone, and she wasn't sure if she could ever do that.

The ringing of her cell phone pulled Pepper from her muse.

"Hello?"

"Pepper?" It was Rhodey, who sound frantic over the static of the line. "It's me. We've found him." There was a brief pause before he added, "Alive."

Pepper cried for the rest of the night. She cried out of happiness, out of sadness, of disbelief and gratitude for whatever higher being had listened to her prayers day and night, and at last, answered them. Rhodey called her again a couple hours later, informing her that they were heading back to the States.

"Which airport am I meeting you at," she asked, already grabbing her car keys.

"Edwards Airbase. We should arrive by 7am, okay?" She glanced at her watch. It was only a quarter to midnight.

"That's too long, Rhodey."

"I know. "

"How is he?"

"He's…a little beat up, but…okay. He's been really quiet."

"Is he there?"

"Yeah. You wanna talk to him?" Her heart melted.

"Yes, please!"

"Okay, one sec." There was a crackle of static, silence, and more static. Pepper found herself holding her breath in anticipation. Then…

"Pepper?" Tony's voice sounded rough and weak, but just hearing him, knowing that he was alive was enough for her.

"Hi Tony." There was more silence, and she feared they were disconnected, just as she was hearing him again after too long.

"I'm okay, Pep," he sighed. "They're taking good care of me. Rhodey's makin' sure of that. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay." There was more static, then Rhodey got back on the line.

"Better?"

"Yes. Thank you, Rhodey, for everything."

"It's just going be good to have him home. I'll call you once we're about an hour from landing, okay?"

"That's great, thank you!" They said good bye and she quickly hung up, cleaning up any trace of her being at Tony's. She drove home, taking a small cat nap before waking again by Rhodey's phone call. She hurriedly changed into her usual business attire and drove the long route to the airbase.

The massive airplane landed with a slight bounce on the tarmac. Pepper stood outside the limo with Happy, shifting anxiously in place. Did she look alright? Should she have worn something a little less formal? Maybe she should have worn her hair down…

At last, the metal doors at the back of the plane clicked and slowly began to lower to the ground. Pepper could just make out two figures waiting. One was standing, and just by his posture, she knew it was Rhodey. The other must've have been Tony, who, by the looks of it, was confined to a wheelchair. Pepper's heart ached at the thought.

Just as the doors reached the ground, Rhodey helped a some what unbalanced Tony to his feet, escorting him down the exit. Tony nearly stumbled once or twice, Rhodey remaining at his side to help him along the way. Just as a couple of medics rolled a stretcher towards the plane, Tony gave them the brush, looking at Rhodey with a bored expression.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." _Same old Tony._

Once on level land, Tony allowed himself out of Rhodey's grip, adjusting his jacket and the sling which held his left arm. Pepper couldn't hide the excitement as a shy smile spread across her face. Every fiber in her being was screaming at her to run over to him and hug him tightly, but she knew she couldn't.

He looked very different than when she had last seen him, although that was just a distant memory now. Even in his suit, he looked leaner than he ever had before. His skin was tanner than she remembered; his hair longer than what he usually liked to sport. At some point on the flight over, she determined, he must've found a razor to shave. A few minor cuts and bruises litter his face, but here he was, standing before her; something she had been waiting for for more than three months now. She tried to hold back the tears that welled in her eyes.

Tony came to a stop before her, his face serious, but his brown eyes full of life. She could see the relief and gratitude of being home deep within them.

"Hmm. Your eyes are red," he stated, his voice sounding a little stronger now than when she had lasted talked to him, only hours ago. She could even see the hint of his infamous smirk as he spoke.

"A few tears for your long lost boss?" _This_ was her Tony. Ever the cool, calm, collected one. Taking a serious situation and making light of it, just to make others feel more at ease. She tried to keep her face straight as she fell back into their playful banter with ease, as if he had only been gone for hours rather than months. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he had gone through. She had so many questions for him, but was sure he had been interrogated on the flight back. What he needed now was familiarity.

"Tears of joy," she smirked at him. "I hate job hunting." He arched his eyebrow every so slightly before looking past her to the limo.

"Yeah. Vacation's over." Wordlessly, Pepper followed him to the waiting car, a smile spread across her face. It was good to have him back.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face after reading them! With that said, I decided to add this little bit here. I had originally written it to be part of the first chapter, but didn't think it was very good. I wrote it because I thought it'd be cool to show Pepper's reaction to finding about the arc reactor. Tony tells Stane in the movie that Pepper knows, but I think it would've been a good scene to include, seeing as she's a very important character in the film, and to Tony.

Okay. I'm done, haha. Thank you for reading and let me know what you think! 3

* * *

><p>"Where to, sir," Happy asked, looking back at Tony in the rear view mirror.<p>

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper said, Tony cutting her off with a stern '_no_'. She looked over at him. He still seemed tired and irritated. She wondered if he had managed to get any rest on the flight.

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital. The doctor has to look at you."

"No is a complete answer," he began, talking over her. _This _was also her Tony; the stubborn pain in the ass that acted more like an eight year old than a thirty eight year old. "I don't _have_ to do anything." Tony looked at her, challenging her with his dark eyes. It was something he used to do all the time and it drove her crazy. Even though he was quickly irking her, Pepper found this was one of the many things she had missed about her boss.

"I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I _want_ to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other-"

"-That's enough of that," she said, cutting him off as she looked ahead at Happy, pleading with him with her eyes, hoping he would stand up to Tony and take her side.

"-is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now." Pepper whipped her head over at him, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Call for a press conference? What on Earth for?" He nodded at Happy, completely ignoring Pepper's inquiries. _Typical Tony._ It was nice to see he hadn't changed as much as she initially expected.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." As Happy began to drive the limo off the tarmac, he looked in the rear view mirror, giving Pepper a sheepish shrug. She sighed heavily, looking out the window as they left Edwards Airbase.

The ride was exceptionally quiet except for when Happy pulled up to the nearest Burger King. Over seas, Tony had apparently acquired two extra stomachs, ordering item after item off the menu without bothering to ask if Happy or Pepper wanted anything.

As Tony feasted away, Pepper made a few phone calls, informing that there would be a press conference in the lobby of Stark Industries in twenty minutes.

"This may be the only time I get to tell you about, or show you this," Tony began quietly, already finishing his first burger and working on his second. Setting the burger down in his lap (careful not to get anything on his pants), he threw his tie over his shoulder and began to unbutton his shirt. Pepper could only imagine what he was about to reveal. A prisoner tattoo maybe, or some sort of scar. What she was not expecting to see was a glowing blue light embedded in his chest. The limo swerved slightly, distracting Tony.

"Happy, eyes on the road. I'll give you a private showing later." Tony flashed a quick smirk before bringing his attention back to an astonished Pepper.

"What…is that?"

"Doesn't it look familiar?" He waited a moment before glancing down at it. "It's an arc reactor. I miniaturized it." Pepper timidly reached her hand towards it, her fingers brushing against the metal and his surrounding warm skin. He inhaled sharply through his nose. She froze as their eyes met.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, not really. Not after everything I've been through."

"What-"

"-I'm telling you this in the strictest of confidence, Pep. Seriously. One word to anyone and that's it." Buttoning up his shirt and fixing his tie, he went back to his food.

"When we were attacked," he began, talking with his mouth full, and dabbing a napkin at the corner of his lips. "I tried to run. To get help…or something. I don't even know what I was thinking. I mean, I tried to send out an SOS, but a missile landed next to me. One of _my own_ missiles. I mean, what the hell are these bastards doing with _my_ _weapons_? And then, to think…our own soldiers…dying at the, the hands of the very things I made to protect them…" He grew quiet, staring out the window.

"Tony, you can't blame yourself," Pepper stated softly, placing her hand over his that rested on his knee. He looked at her, giving her a weak, but appreciative smile.

"Yeah, well, the long story short is the missile explodes. Shrapnel gets lodged into my body and this?" He tapped on the reactor through his shirt. "This is the only thing keeping the metal barbs from reaching my heart.."

"How did you escape?"

"I-"

"-We're here, sir," Happy said, looking over his shoulder at the couple before Tony could answer. The door on Tony's side opened, and he was greeted by none other than a cheering crowd, and a grinning Obadiah Stane.

"Look at this, huh," Obadiah exclaimed happily to the crowd, helping Tony out and pulling him into his embrace. "Tony!"


End file.
